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When He had ended all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered into Capernaum.

And a certain centurion’s servant (who was dear to him) was sick and ready to die.

And when he heard of Jesus, he sent the elders of the Jews to Him, asking Him to come and heal his servant.

So they came to Jesus and pleaded with Him earnestly, saying “He is worthy. You should do this for him.

“For he loves our Nation, and he has built us a synagogue.”

Then Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself. For I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.

“Therefore I did not think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant shall be whole.

“For I am also a man set under authority and have soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go.’ And he goes. And to another, ‘Come.’ And he comes. And to my servant, ‘Do this.’ And he does it.”

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him. And He turned and said to the people who followed him, “I say to you, I have not found so great faith! No. Not in Israel.”

10 And when those who were sent returned to the house, they found the servant who had been sick, whole.

11 And it happened that the next day, He went into a city called Nain. And many of His disciples went with Him, and a great multitude.

12 Now when He came near to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out - the only begotten son of his mother, who was a widow - and many people of the city were with her.

13 And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”

14 And He went and touched the coffin. And those who bore him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, ‘Arise.’”

15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother.

16 Then a fear came upon them all. And they glorified God, saying, “A great Prophet is risen among us! And God has visited His people!”

17 And this word of Him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the surrounding region.

18 And the disciples of John reported all these things to him.

19 So John called two certain men of his disciples, and sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the coming One? Or shall we wait for another?”

20 And when the men had come to Him, they said, “John Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the coming One? Or shall we wait for another?’”

21 And at that time, He cured many of their sicknesses and plagues and evil spirits. And He gave sight freely to many of the blind.

22 And Jesus answered, and said to them, “Go your ways and show John what things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive the Gospel.

23 “And whoever does not stumble because of Me is blessed.”

24 And when the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the people of John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see - a reed shaken with the wind?

25 “But what did you go out to see - a man clothed in soft garments? Behold, those who are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.

26 “But what did you go forth to see - a Prophet? ‘Yes’, I say to you, ‘and greater than a Prophet.’

27 “This is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before your face, who shall prepare Your way before You.’

28 “For I say to you there is no greater Prophet than John among those who are born of women. Nevertheless, whoever is the least in the Kingdom of God, is greater than him.”

29 Then all the people who heard, and the tax collectors, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

30 But the Pharisees and the expounders of the Law despised the counsel of God against themselves and were not baptized by him.

31 And the Lord said, “To what shall I liken the men of this generation? And what are they like?

32 “They are like little children sitting in the marketplace, crying one to another, saying, ‘We have played the flute for you, and you have not danced. We have mourned for you, and you have not wept.’

33 “For John Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine. And you say, ‘He has a demon.’

34 “The Son of Man has come, and eats, and drinks. And you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

35 “But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

36 And one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down at table.

37 And behold, a woman in the city (who was a sinner), when she knew that Jesus sat at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought a box of ointment.

38 And she stood behind him, weeping at his feet. And she began to wash his feet with her tears. And she wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had asked Him, saw it, he spoke to himself, saying, “If this man were a Prophet, He would surely have known who and what kind of woman this is who touches Him. For she is a sinner.”

40 And Jesus answered, and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Master, say on.”

41 “There was a certain lender who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

42 “When they had nothing with which to pay, he forgave them both. Therefore, tell Me, which of them will love him most?”

43 Simon answered, and said, “I suppose the one to whom he forgave most.” And He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

44 Then he turned to the woman, and said to Simon, “See this woman? I entered into your house and you gave Me no water for my feet. But she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45 “You gave Me no kiss. But since the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss My feet.

46 “You did not anoint My head with oil. But she has anointed My feet with ointment.

47 “Therefore I say to you her many sins are forgiven. For she has loved much. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 And those who sat at table with Him began to say among themselves, “Who is this Who even forgives sins?”

50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

The Faith of the Centurion(A)

When Jesus had finished saying all this(B) to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.(C) For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son(D)

11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord(E) saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”(F) 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 They were all filled with awe(G) and praised God.(H) “A great prophet(I) has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”(J) 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.(K)

Jesus and John the Baptist(L)

18 John’s(M) disciples(N) told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses(O) and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.(P) 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet?(Q) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’[b](R)

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God(S) is greater than he.”

29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.(T) 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law(U) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not cry.’

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine,(V) and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’(W) 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman(X)(Y)

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,(Z) he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet,(AA) but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss,(AB) but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head,(AC) but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”(AD)

49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you;(AE) go in peace.”(AF)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:22 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Luke 7:27 Mal. 3:1
  3. Luke 7:41 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2).